SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Olivier Hanlan and Patrick Heckmann hit three-pointers in overtime, Lonnie Jackson made four consecutive free throws in the final 26.2 seconds, and lowly Boston College stunned top-ranked Syracuse 62-59 on Wednesday night, ending the Orange’s unbeaten season.
Boston College (7-19, 3-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had lost five consecutive games, rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to pull off the improbable upset.
Syracuse (25-1, 12-1) travels to No. 5 Duke on Saturday night.
The loss leaves No. 3 Wichita State, which defeated Loyola of Chicago on Wednesday, as the lone unbeaten in Division I.
The Eagles came to town with heavy hearts and a good dose of determination. Longtime basketball media contact and sports information assistant Dick Kelley died last week after a two-year battle with ALS. His funeral was Tuesday and the Eagles, who often visited his apartment, were wearing “DK” patches on their uniforms.
The Eagles, whose only conference victories this season were over Virginia Tech, beat a No. 1-ranked team for the third time and first since the 2008-2009 season.
Syracuse, which had won its previous two games by a combined three points, shot a season-low 32.2 percent from the field including going 2 of 12 from three-point range.
Tied at 50-50 after two halves played at Boston College’s deliberate pace, Hanlan and Heckmann hit from long range to give BC a 56-52 lead with 2:56 left, but Tyler Ennis’s driving layup knotted the score at 56-56 with 2:09 to play.
A free throw by Ennis gave the Orange a one-point lead, but Heckmann’s backdoor layup put the Eagles back in front with 43.5 seconds left.
After a timeout, Ennis threw a pass toward C.J. Fair in the right corner that sailed out of bounds. After the officials initially ruled it was Syracuse’s ball, a video review with 32.5 seconds left reaffirmed the call. It didn’t matter when Fair missed a drive and Jackson sealed the victory with his clutch free throws.
Hanlan finished with 20 points and Jackson had 10. Ryan Anderson had nine points and 14 rebounds, but the Eagles won it by going 11of 22 from behind the arc.
Fair finished with 20 points on 7-of-23 shooting and had 11 rebounds. Ennis had 14 points and six assists and Jerami Grant finished with 11 points.
NO. 3 WICHITA STATE 88, LOYOLA 74
CHICAGO - Fred VanVleet scored 22 points on perfect shooting and No. 3 Wichita State beat Loyola of Chicago to remain the last unbeaten team in major college basketball.
Wichita State and Syracuse began the day as the only Division I schools with perfect records. But the Orange lost 62-59 to Boston College in overtime, and the Shockers used an 11-2 run early in the second half to help close out the Ramblers.
Cleanthony Early scored 18 points as Wichita State became the 19th school to begin a season with 28 consecutive victories. VanVleet was 6 for 6 from the field and made each of his 10 free throws.
The Shockers (28-0, 15-0) can clinch the Missouri Valley Conference title with a victory at home against Drake on Saturday.
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 77, CENTRAL FLORIDA 49
ORLANDO, Fla. - Sean Kilpatrick hit six three-pointers and scored 23 points as No. 7 Cincinnati dominated Central Florida.
The Bearcats (24-3, 13-1 American Athletic) have won 17 of 18 going into their conference showdown with No. 11 Louisville on Saturday. Justin Jackson added 10 points and seven rebounds for Cincinnati, which beat Central Florida for the second time this season.
Central Florida’s offense struggled mightily in the first half, allowing Cincinnati to build an early 20-point lead. The struggling Knights never got it back to single digits in the second half and finished with 16 turnovers.
Isaiah Sykes led the Knights with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Central Florida(10-14, 2-11) has lost 10 of 11.
Cincinnati took a 40-18 lead into halftime, taking advantage of Central Florida’s poor shooting. The Knights connected on just one of their first 18 field goal attempts and went more than 4 minutes without a basket as the Bearcats built a lead that swelled to as many as 25 points.
Central Florida also turned it over 10 times in the first half, leading to 17 Cincinnati points.
The Bearcats did most of their damage in the paint, where they scored 16 points before halftime. But they also connected on five three-pointers, which kept the Knights’ defense scrambling for most of the half.
NO. 10 SAINT LOUIS 89, GEORGE MASON 85, OT
FAIRFAX, Va. - Jordair Jett scored 24 of his 25 points after halftime and Rob Loe hit two key three-pointers in overtime as No. 10 St. Louis escaped with its 18th consecutive victory over George Mason.
The Billikens (24-2, 11-0 Atlantic-10), playing as a Top 10 team for the first time since Dec. 29, 1964, extended their school-record winning streak and remained with No. 3 Wichita State as the only teams in the country without a loss on the road.
Sherrod Wright had a career-high 34 points for the Patriots (9-17, 2-10), which lost for the 11th time in 13 games and are still without a home win in conference play.
Loe hit consecutive three-pointers to give the Billikens a 79-77 lead with 3:10 remaining in overtime, and Saint Louis would not relinquish the lead from that point.
The teams played overtime in their earlier meeting, an 87-81 Saint Louis win on Feb. 1.
NO. 11 CREIGHTON 85, MARQUETTE 70
MILWAUKEE - Doug McDermott scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and Ethan Wragge added 22 as No. 11 Creighton beat Marquette in a foul-plagued Big East game.
McDermott, who entered as the nation’s leading scorer at 25.9 points per game, scored seven points to trigger a deciding 10-2 run after Marquette had pulled within 64-59. McDermott’s jumper from the free throw line put the Bluejays (22-4, 12-2 Big East) up 74-61 with 4:39 left.
Creighton did not trail over the final 20 minutes after leading 42-35 at halftime.
Todd Mayo had 13 points for the Golden Eagles (15-11, 7-6), which had won three consecutive games, while Deonte Burton added 11.
Marquette, which had made 24 of 27 free throws in an 81-72 victory over Xavier on Saturday, was just 20 of 36 from the line. The Bluejays were called for 30 fouls and Marquette 22.
NO. 24 OHIO STATE 76, NORTHWESTERN 60
COLUMBUS, Ohio - LaQuinton Ross scored 16 points before being ejected after a scuffle, leading No. 24 Ohio State to a victory over Northwestern.
The fracas late in the game delayed play for several minutes while the officials deliberated penalties for the players. Northwestern’s Nikola Cerina also was ejected. The teams shot 10 free throws as a result of the shoving match.
The victory was Ohio State’s 33rd consecutive victory over Northwestern in Columbus, dating to an 83-72 loss on Feb. 24, 1977, at old St. John Arena.
Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. each added 14 points for Ohio State. Sam Thompson, who had not hit double figures in his past eight games, had 11 for the Buckeyes (21-6, 8-6 Big Ten), who have won five of their last six.
Drew Crawford scored 22 points and Tre Demps 14 for the Wildcats (12-15, 5-9), who have lost four in a row.
The Buckeyes, up by four at the break, took control by starting the second half with a 9-0 run.
Craft hit two foul shots on the first possession - an action that would be repeated as the Wildcats were called for five fouls in the opening 2:10 of the half. Ohio State was in the double-bonus for the final 10:46.
Sports, Pages 21 on 02/20/2014